Many types of equipment carry a receptacle which enables connection with and disconnection from a source of supply of power and/or signals required to operate the equipment. Such services may include: electricity for power required to operate home appliances and equipment, office and industrial equipment; telephone lines for incorporation of equipment and/or internal communication networks; and cable and twin-lead lines for connection of receiving equipment to antennas and computer equipment peripherals.
The source of the service(s) may either be located within the place of use (such as a home, office, or business) as, for example, a central server or similar equipment for a computer network or other computer accessories, or it may be remote from the place of use (such as a generating station for electricity). Such service(s) are often distributed within the place of use by wiring, coax cable or the like which terminates at one or more junction devices each equipped with one or more coupling devices constructed to mate with the part of the coupling device carried by the equipment, for example, a wall outlet and a plug to supply power to a computer.
If the service is power electricity the equipment will usually carry a length of electric cord or cable terminating in a male plug to be mated with a female receptacle located in a junction device in a wall or floor, or carried by a desk or other article of furniture, fixture, or equipment. Communication equipment, such as telephones, usually include a line terminating in a modular phone-type connector for mating engagement with a modular jack; while coaxial cable and twin-lead, in turn, may be fitted with male bayonet-type connectors for mating engagement with respective female type connections located in a junction device. Connections for computers to other computers in a network and/or to peripheral equipment such as printers, scanners, CD readers, etc. also use communication type electrical lines with mating male and female couplings and connectors.
It is highly desirable to have ready access to the respective coupling parts when plugging equipment in to a power and/or signal source. The part carried by the equipment is usually the male part, such as a plug, and is most often disposed at the end of a length of wire. The female part is typically positioned in a junction device disposed within a wall or other surface. The male and female coupling parts may be reversed, however, the equipment carried part is usually disposed at the end of a length of wire and the mating part is usually disposed to be flush to a surface at a junction device.
Connection of the mating coupling parts is aided by the length of conduit, wire or conductor carried by the equipment and by the relatively fixed placement of the other mating part of the coupling. For example, flat screen televisions are typically plugged into an outlet and a coaxial cable feed is mounted in a wall. However, once coupled and placed near the wall, the mated coupling parts, such as plugs, or coaxial cables often protrude and form an obstruction which interferes with disposition of the equipment, or the unit or furniture upon which the equipment is located. For example, after plugging in a computer to an outlet and an internet cable feed and locating the computer on a desk, it may be impossible to push the desk against the wall in which the outlet is located because the plug protrudes from the wall. Thus, when pushing furniture or equipment against a connection, the connector may be damaged causing a decrease in signal fidelity, a failed connection and/or an unsafe condition. Spacing of the equipment or furniture from such surfaces may prove unsafe and undesirable because the equipment or furniture may project into a pathway and/or because things may fall between the equipment or furniture and the surface carrying the junction device.
Thus, flush/recessable junction devices have been proposed. However, there is a need to improve such devices, particularly in cases where it is desirable to easily change the position of the receptacle from a flush to a recessed position or a recessed to a flush position, and easily lock the receptacle in either a flush or recessed position. The need for improved devices which are easier to flush and recess is especially important in cases where the equipment may be relocated or reconfigured often, such as in business offices, where changes in personnel and equipment location occur relatively frequently. Further, the devices are needed to improve safety, reliability, reduce manufacturing costs and allow for a simple, easy to use reconfigurable device. Still further, improved devices are needed when recessing or making flush a coupling within a junction device in a confined space.